It's a lovely story James M. Barrie told aboug babies laughing and that created fairies. But all Fae are created in very different ways. I was born like any human, of a mother and father. Both, however, were Fae. Or Fay. Or Fata…pick your word. It's actually the name for me and my kind…as well as for the entire Faerie population in general. The day was March the Sixth and the year was 1715. I was actually born on board a ship sailing from Scotland to the New World. We landed in what would become Canada and Nova Scotia and it wasn't too long before I was happily exploring my home. We're not large in our natural form…but it was a couple of years before I could learn to control my size and appear as, well, a normal child. Sort of. About the time of puberty, we began to find that my particular development was a little different. I aged, but I aged with the seasons. Mid-summer, I was youngest, Mid-winter I was oldest. After about a decade and a half, my rhythm settled and I began to learn about who I was.

Time passes differently with us. We don't worry, for the most part, about politics or fashion…not us. We help the seasons. We help prepare the life, be it flora or fauna, for the changes. Before too long though, Humans were coming too close. Far too close for us. My parents fled into the wilds, but I was curious. I became human-sized and began sniffing about them…still doing my work, my calling, but also learning what fascinating people humans could be. I hid what I was from most and insinuated myself into the town. That was about…1875, I think. Yes. Something like that. It was fairly interesting, actually, as I was three generations all at once. I was my own father and my own son, depending on the season and if any were curious about it, they never bothered to dig deep enough to figure out the truth. Although, by that time, it was all about scientific and industrial innovation. The myths and folklore of the old country was all but forgotten.

I continued in this vein until about 1933 when I decided that I wanted to see how far this would go. So I bought a building, built a garden, and started a business. The business grew, I hired workers, and billed it as a family business…therefore, all three generations of me could run it. I cultivated all sorts of plants and flowers and herbs…I encourged nature to come and do her work in my gardens and my greenhouses. Through it, we thrived. See, I didn't try and breed anything to be more beautiful, as there was beauty even in that which died and decayed…for it gave new life to the others. All plants and animals, no matter their appearance, have a beauty of their own. Perhaps that is why I am considered Unseelie. Why I joined the small Court in Nova Scotia.

But it was only recently that I was asked to move. Not from my Court in Nova Scotia, but from the Court in Chicago. After a good deal of thought and even more tears from leaving my land, I went down to Chicago to find a new place. It was difficult for a while, but I found a place for my greenhouse and nursery and there is enough greenery here for me to feel useful in what I am and what I do. And now, with the fact that Fae, as a whole, are known, I don't have to be three generations of people anymore! I do admit, that is rather refreshing to just be myself. It's been interesting with those I have dated…usually when it is summer and I am misaken for their son, the relationship doesn't last much longer.

Chicago is fascinating. It's a city with all of the city vibe, bit there is enough nature for me to feel comfortable. It isn't Nova Scotia…it isn't the wilderness of Canada. But it is warmer, and the seasons are so much more vibrant. All of them! I could see myself staying here for a little while, I think. And my business is booming…'Cinderella's Pumpkin' nursery has made quite a name for itself for plants and beautiful floral arrangements. I really can't complain all that much. Life, for now, is good.